Minister of Finance and National Planning Margaret Mwanakatwe has described the just ended Spring Meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington DC as a success.
Mrs. Mwanakatwe said the meetings with the IMF, the World Bank and other development partners were insightful and strengthened the country’s cooperation with both multilateral and bilateral partners.
The Minister said Zambia’s multi-sectoral investor forums held on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings gave her delegation the hope of tangible investment in energy, technological and industrial, agriculture, education, health and social investment developments.
Attributing to the success of the trip to the USA, Mrs. Mwanakatwe confirmed that her delegations’ investor relations programmes, a consortium of American Investors, had submitted a proposal for the creation of a Southern African Regional Hub for Technology to be located in Lusaka, Zambia.
The technology park, a mixed-use work-live facility, which will consist of a large-scale data center, a business incubation hub for small and medium enterprises, two international standard hotels, a regional conference center for technology, residential housing and office blocks, at full-scale.
The hub which hopes to create over five thousand jobs.
“The Zambian Government will do its best to ensure that all requirements are put in place so that the proposal becomes reality and construction commences as soon as possible,” Mrs. Mwanakatwe stated.
The minister added that the technology park will avail opportunities for much needed technological creativity and upgrades in some Zambian industries.
“Our citizens, especially the youth, need jobs, so we cannot wait for long for the proposal from the Americans to be actualized,” lamented Mrs.Mwanakatwe.
Meanwhile, during the bilateral discussions with the Trade and Development Bank, the minister also confirmed that Zambia will in August host the Bank’s thirty-fifth Anniversary Commemoration and Annual General Meeting in Lusaka.
This was contained in a press statement made available to Lusaka star on April 16, 2019.